Early Christmas gift for Namao man arrives decades late

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A man in Namao is investigating what happened, before a letter from his mother finally made it into his mailbox – after it was mailed nearly seven decades ago.

Jack Speers has finally read the letter, which was sent by his mother just before Christmas partway through World War II.

“She mailed it the day that she wrote it,” Speers said. “The day before Christmas, 1943.”

That year, Speers was stationed in St. Thomas, Ontario where he was training to become an aircraft mechanic with the military.

Speers said his mother often sent him letters, but he never received this one – and he’s not sure what happened.

“It must have gone to Ontario, but where it went from there I haven’t got a clue, and nobody else seems to know either,” Speers said.

Speers finally received it last Friday – it was delivered by an RCMP officer.

A young person reportedly had the letter, and when it was found, it was turned over to police.

“How it came from there into the possession of this youth, I can’t say for sure, but it was not lost in the mail for 70 years,” Cpl. Bryce Tarzwell with Morinville RCMP said.

The letter is in good shape – in it, Speers’ mother wrote about the family’s Christmas plans and the gifts she was giving that year.

She said she had bought a $12 fountain pen for Speers’ father, but there were some gifts she couldn’t get.

“She tried to get a .22 calibre rifle for my brother, but there were none to be had,” Speers said. “Well, it was during the war.”

Speers’ mother passed away 20 years ago – but because of the letter, she will have a special place in not only her son’s memory, but for many others involved in getting the letter to its intended recipient.

“For it to show up at this time of year I think for him it was kind of a neat little story, and for me as well you know it’s a really feel-good story,” Cpl. Tarzwell said.

With files from Amanda Anderson

Photos

A portrait of Jack Speers from the 1940s, at about the time his mother sent him a letter - that he finally received on November 30, 2012.